LONDON — Aneurin Barnard has been tapped for the eponymous leading role in ”Mariah Mundi and the Midas Box,” a $25 million adaption of G.P. Taylor’s teen adventure novel, which starts shooting April 30 in the UK.

The movie is being directed by Jonathan Newman (”Swinging with the Finkels”) from a script by Gavin Scott, Rob Sprackling and John Smith.

Set in Victorian England, it’s a fantastical story of a 17-year-old boy searching for his lost parents and kidnapped younger brother in a mysterious luxury hotel filled with shady villians, child-snatching creatures and a box which turns ordinary objects into gold.

Barnard, who won an Olivier Award in 2010 for his lead role in the London West End musical ”Spring Awakening,” most recently starred in the features ”Trap For Cinderella” and ”Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes.”

Pic is being produced by Peter Bevan and Karl Richards of the UK’s Entertainment Motion Pictures in association with Ibon Cormenzana and Ignasi Estape of Spain’s Arcadia Motion Pictures. Six Sales is handling international sales.

”Mariah Mundi and the Midas Box,” published in 2007, is the first in a trilogy of novels, which the producers are hoping to develop as a movie franchise.

”GP Taylor’s book combines the best elements of an action adventure film with a strong emotional core and instantly iconic characters,” Newman said.

Sign Up for Daily Insider Newsletter

With his fifth No. 1 box office opening, M. Night Shyamalan has plenty to celebrate. “Glass,” the conclusion to a trilogy that consists of the 2000 cult hit “Unbreakable” and 2016’s box office sensation “Split,” topped the box office last weekend — though its win comes with a few caveats. James McAvoy reprised his role [...]

Patra Spanou has picked up world sales rights to “Los miembros de la familia” (Family Members), which will world premiere in the Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama section. Variety has been given an exclusive first look of the film’s trailer. The film is the second feature from writer/director Mateo Bendesky, and is produced by Agustina Costa [...]

Great Point Media and The Development Partnership, the development and production arm of the talent agency the Artists Partnership, are joining forces to develop, package, and co-produce multiple films, kicking off with three projects, including “Chasing Agent Freegard,” starring James Norton (“War & Peace”). “Chasing Agent Freegard,” which is being produced by “Captain Phillips” co-producer [...]

Sandro Fiorin’s Miami-based FiGa Films, a leading sales agent on the independent Latin American scene, has announced the acquisition of Brazilian doc “Landless,” and released a trailer for the Costa Rican-Spanish drama “El despertar de las hormigas.” Both features will play at this year’s Berlinale Forum and come from young Latin American filmmakers making their [...]

Ryan Reynolds canceled surgery on his arm to fly to China and charm “Deadpool” fans in Beijing on Sunday ahead of the franchise’s unexpected China theatrical debut. Just last week, Fox suddenly announced that a re-cut, PG-13 “Deadpool 2” would hit Chinese theaters starting this Friday – the first time the notoriously blood-splattered and foul-mouthed [...]

Writer-director Hari Sama’s fifth feature, “This is Not Berlin,” is set to world premiere at this month’s Sundance Film Festival. New York-based Cinema Tropical, a leading presenter of Latin American cinema in the U.S., has granted Variety exclusive access to the first trailer for the coming-of-age drama set in 1986 Mexico City. Sama wrote, directed [...]

Qatari powerhouse beIN Media Group is calling on Hollywood to join in fighting a pirate broadcaster that it alleges has stolen billions of dollars’ worth of rights to sports events, films and TV content, and that it says has the backing of Saudi Arabia. Doha-based beIN has compiled what it calls a “dossier of evidence” [...]